Adelaide - June 2011

Kiong and I were privileged to be invited to an Australia-Malaysia Institute function in Adelaide.  Although this was more related to our own business (Paradigm Infinitum has been supported by AMI for one of our large projects on new media.  In addition I was recently selected for the Inaugural Australia-ASEAN Emerging Leaders Programme, supported by the AMI), it was a good opportunity to network with other alumni members, government representatives, business people and academics interested in the bilateral relationship. 

Adelaide Town Hall

 

At the function we were informed by the AMI Chairman that we were about to be stranded - the ash cloud from the Chilean volcano had returned to the Adelaide skies.  This meant that no one was flying anywhere, and we were stuck until further notice.  Thus, we had to cancel the scheduled AMBCQ lunch for Wednesday with immediate past president of AMBC national Justin Howden. It also meant we had to miss the final debrief with Cr Angela Owen-Taylor and the rest of the organising committee for the Dragon Boat festival. 
Although this was annoying, as we had work to do, appointments to attend, and our children were not with us, it gave us an opportunity to explore Adelaide.  It was the first visit for either of us.  And we also took the opportunity to meet with our AMBC counterparts in SA, and touch base with Malaysian leaders and consular representatives as well.

Adelaide is quite frankly, a very beautiful city, and has retained many of its historical sites and buildings.  It is also a very friendly and quite relaxed place without many of the stresses that you find in larger cities.  I was also impressed by the approach to cultural diversity - the diversity seems less superficial or tokenstic, and far less clustered than what you find in some other Australian capitals.  Adelaide also has a wonderful CBD which is well planned and highly accessible. Also there are many chocolate shops!

It seems to me that if Brisbane had kept more of its heritage buildings in the 1980s, and its infrastructure had kept pace with its rapid population growth (or that population growth hadn't been as rapid!), it too could be as liveable as Adelaide.  But to be honest, it is far too cold for a Brisbane girl like me to survive. 

 

We were lucky enough to stay in the old Treasury Building

Adelaide is an interesting part of the Australia-Malaysia story and there is an ongoing relationship (formalised as a sister city relationship) between Adelaide and Penang.  I knew Adelaide was going to have quite a few Malaysians resident, but we had little idea how many. It was quite an eye-opener.  In fact, one recent migrant from Penang said that her family had chosen Adelaide because it was similar to Penang - without the hustle and bustle of other large capitals. 

The history between Penang and Adelaide dates right back to foundation times.  It was something I only became aware of during a trip to Penang back in 2000, and a visit to their museum and it is quite an intriguing link.  Penang was founded by Captain Sir Francis Light in 1786, while working for the British East India Company.  It became extraordinary successful and was later incorporated into the British Straits Settlements.  Captain Light served as its Superintendant until his death in 1794. 

With a new Malaysian friend

In 1837 Captain Light's son, Colonel William Light, founded Adelaide.  William Light was born on 27 April 1786 in Kuala Kedah, Siam (now part of Malaysia, then part of Siam, modern day Thailand), the second son of Captain Francis Light and Martinha Rozells.  Martinha Rozells is recorded as a Princess of Kedah (and Siamese aristocrat, at a time when the northern and East Coast states of Malaysia were still part of the Kingdom of Siam).  She also had Portuguese Eurasian and Nyonya (Straits Chinese) heritage. 

Colonel William Light spent his childhood in Penang and was later sent to boarding school in England.  He started his military service at 13, joining and Royal Navy and later the Army, and spent time in Spain, Egypt and India.

Colonel William Light was appointed the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia and chose the site of Adelaide as its capital.  Light planned out Adelaide in a grid based around five squares that give the city a well ordered feel.  He also included numerous parklands in his design which today still provide Adelaide with much charm.  Not long after, Colonel William Light succumbed to tuberculosis in 1939 and was buried in Light Square. 

I'm sure not many people outside of South Australia or Penang know this intriguing part of the Australia-Malaysia story.  It reminds us how both countries, as former British colonies, and now members of the British Commonwealth, have far more in common than we sometimes know.